One Problem Figured Out

The ECCO of Johnny's heart came back fine.  His heart has been getting quite a workout due to the high fevers.  I've gotten to the point where I can tell his temp by looking at his heart rate on the monitor.  When he as up over 104 his heart was beating in the 180s - 190s/minute.  This is one more reason why we are lucky he is in such good shape.  The doctors are constantly commenting on how well he is handling the stress of these infections and medications.  They weren't really looking for damage.  They were checking to see if there was any bacteria or fungus stuck to the valves.  Apparently that can happen, but luckily Johnny not an issue for Johnny at this point.

The ultrasound of Johnny's kidneys also came back ok.  The Renal team did discover that due to the amount of fluids he is receiving his blood saline levels are really out of whack.  This is allowing fluids to "leak" from his circulatory system and cause him to bloat.  Julie and I have noticed he has looked "puffy" from time to time, but it usually cleared up pretty quickly.  When this happens his belly button turns into a little slit.  It looks like his stomach is smiling at you when this happens.  His normal doctors weren't really all that concerned about it until yesterday.  This time he has stayed puffy, and his hands and feet also look bloated.  That's why they asked the Renal team to take a look at him.  Fortunately they were very quick to diagnose the problem and suggested a couple of new drugs to help him shed the extra fluids and bring his blood chemistry back in line.  A simple fix, but he will probably be waking Julie and me up all night so he can go to the bathroom.  I'm just glad this issue is figured out.  The smiling belly button thing was starting to freak me out a little.

No word yet on todays CT scan of his lungs.  The ID and Hem/Oc doctors will probably take a look and tell us what they think tomorrow.  If the radiologist looks at it first they will give us the results.  If not they will give us their opinion with the disclaimer that they are not radiologists.  

Johnny has had a consistent low grade fever since leaving the ICU.  At this time he is being covered for just about every bacteria or fungus known, so the doctors are working hard to figure out where the issue lies.  The first assumption is that he still has some type of infection, but it's also possible he could have a virus, or even some of the medications can cause fevers.  Hopefully we will have more answers tomorrow.